David Hughes is the Daily Telegraph's chief leader writer. He has been covering British politics for 30 years.

Ed Miliband doesn't seem to know what government is for

Ed Miliband, widely seen at Westminster as the smarter, more voter- friendly of the Miliband brothers, is talked of as a future Labour leader. His views therefore matter, so what should we make of remarks this morning on the nature of government? He was being grilled over the banning of two ads his department had put out using nursery rhymes to highlight the dangers of climate change. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled they over-stated the "threat". Miliband sort of apologised but was less than contrite, arguing that he had a duty to warn the nation's children that water could soon be lapping round their chins because of global warming. Why? In Miliband's view, because that's what government is for. "What is the job of the government?" Miliband asked. "It is to lead." Really? To lead us where, exactly? It is not the job of government to lead anybody anywhere. In Thomas Jefferson's classic definition: "The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors." It's a simple enough message and should be dinned into the head of every miniser – or aspiring minister – in the land.